Chapter 42
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Chapter 42
The Imperial Palace Rose Garden was absolutely magnificent.
Abundant flowers, beautiful blooms, a delicate fragrance—everything was extraordinary.
Though truthfully, I could barely remember any of it.
My mind had been far too preoccupied to take in the details.
Learning the truth about Kieran had dealt me a devastating blow.
I had no idea how I'd managed to maintain composure and chatter away in front of him.
Fortunately, I'd somehow managed to make it back to the Basilian Mansion safely.
And since then, I'd been turning the revelation over and over in my mind until my head burned.
If Count Basilian was the master of the Underworld.
Then countless mysteries that had plagued me suddenly fell into place.
Why House Basilian commanded such respect from the Imperial Court despite being isolated in the Eastern Black Forest, and how they'd risen to become one of the Empire's three great families—it all made sense now.
Yet knowing this hidden secret of House Basilian brought me no joy whatsoever.
"Lichesia!"
The following night, Hata appeared in my bedroom in her canine form, her tail wagging with a jingling sound.
"Hata has returned! Hata has successfully completed your orders!"
She was absolutely thrilled, apparently pleased with the hat she'd crafted.
Hata pranced toward me with a wiggling rear, her paws pattering rhythmically as if dancing.
"Made a splendid hat, brewed a wonderful potion, skillful Hata has arrived...."
She was humming a little tune she'd composed, bouncing along in rhythm with a cheerful "lulalala, boom-boom-boom," when she suddenly gasped and froze.
She'd spotted me sitting on the children's sofa with a vacant, hollow stare.
Seeing me looking like a small child bearing the weight of all the world's sorrows, Hata stammered as she called out to me.
"L-L-Lichesia?"
"...Hata."
I hadn't slept a single moment since yesterday, my eyes sunken and darkened.
In just half a day, my cheeks had hollowed out pitifully as I spoke.
"We have to escape."
"Escape? Right now? But Hata hasn't finished the adult transformation potion yet.... The potion needs more time."
She'd been busy making the hat and hadn't gathered all the materials, so she was flustered and uncertain.
Since the plan wasn't to escape by transforming into an adult, I raised my hand to silence her.
Hata closed her mouth with a snap.
"Count Basilian."
"Yes!"
"He's the Master."
"What?"
The dog's ears, which had been perked up, went rigid.
She clutched her face with her front paws and let out a shriek.
"Whaaaat?!"
Hata looked as though she might faint on the spot.
The gaunt little dog collapsed where she stood, stammering back the words I'd just spoken.
"C-Count Basilian, the Master...."
The fairy woman Lichesia belonged to the Underworld.
Though "belonging" might be an odd way to describe a place where the world's castaways naturally gathered, that was how I thought of it.
In truth, I felt a genuine sense of belonging there.
The daughter of a mad fairy.
A being born with twisted power, one who existed outside nature's laws.
I was the one who fit the Underworld better than anyone else.
I felt most at peace when I stayed in the Underworld.
'But now I've deceived the Underworld's master.'
The reason I could carry myself with such confidence when I met the Master this time.
Was simply because I had done nothing wrong.
I had stood firm and defiant, but the moment I learned that Hailon had caused trouble, I immediately lowered my tail and promised to resolve it.
I never insisted that I had done nothing wrong.
The Master was someone I had no desire to make an unnecessary enemy of.
But this....
This amounted to an enormous deception.
Against none other than the Master himself!
'He'll kill me.'
If he learned the truth, he would certainly kill me.
Because I had mocked him, and he had discovered my identity.
There was no reason to let me live.
Both Hata and I would have our necks severed without hesitation.
Even if I somehow managed to escape alive.
The fairy woman already had the Holy Empire and numerous other factions as enemies.
If I made the Underworld an enemy as well.
I would have nowhere left to go.
I would become completely isolated.
'There would be nowhere to return to....'
I had no home.
I had never felt the need for one, always wandering from place to place in search of information about fairies.
Yet the Underworld was the one place I thought I could always return to, like a spiritual anchor.
I didn't want to be cast out from the Underworld as well.
"It's fine. There's still a chance."
All I had to do was slip away before my identity as the fairy woman Lichesia was exposed.
Belzeon seemed to be planning to let me out anyway, so I could use that to my advantage.
I would escape the mansion as naturally as possible, disappear as if I had vanished.
And once the commotion died down and House Basilian stopped searching for me....
Then I could quietly resume my life as the fairy woman.
Hata and I earnestly discussed and formulated a plan to escape House Basilian.
For just a brief moment, a pang of regret flickered through me.
The hat and accessories that Hata had crafted.
And the formal wear and dresses that Miya had redesigned and altered.
There was no need to verify—they would all be exquisite.
I imagined the moment when House Basilian would make a magnificent entrance to the banquet, dressed more splendidly than any other noble family....
"But you're not Basilian."
Belzeon's voice echoed clearly in my mind.
I brushed away the pointless thought from my head.
***
Baroness Malein was a tutor whom Kieran had sought out and hired from various sources.
When Count Basilian proposed that she take charge of educating the children, she initially attempted to refuse.
However, Kieran had offered such an exorbitant sum that refusal became difficult.
She harbored a subtle curiosity about House Basilian as well, so after much deliberation, she ultimately accepted the proposal.
Given that the family had been so isolated in the Eastern Region, she had worried whether it would be difficult to refashion them to suit the Capital's standards.
Surprisingly, the children of House Basilian were remarkably refined and intelligent.
Thanks to this, Baroness Malein was currently enjoying days of high job satisfaction.
"Mm, excellent."
Karha moved slowly through the steps in time with the violin that Ishuel was playing.
Though Karha's movements to the slow waltz felt somewhat stiff, the motions were precise and angular, which came across as a distinctive style of his own.
Because he moved his body well, he picked up the dance steps remarkably quickly.
Baroness Malein marveled as she watched Karha absorb the lessons like a sponge.
Karha could not hide his expression of utter boredom, yet he still faithfully completed what he was asked to do.
Of course, the moment the dance ended, he swiftly passed his turn to Ishuel.
"Your turn."
Karha sat before the piano and played the dance composition.
Ishuel always executed such things flawlessly, so the Baroness had nothing to critique.
When Ishuel danced, it was almost like watching a performance.
"Excellent, just a bit more smoothly there..., yes, just like that."
When the piece ended, Baroness Malein offered generous applause.
"Oh my, I can hardly wait. At this banquet, all the young ladies will surely request dances from you gentlemen."
Baroness Malein was lost in her own rapture.
While she indulged in imagining the future, the Twins exchanged quick glances with each other.
They had their sights set on Chesa, who was sitting on the sofa eating pastries.
"Let us conclude today's dance lesson here."
The moment Baroness Malein declared the lesson over, they rushed toward Chesa.
Or rather, they tried to.
"Young masters, please follow me. We shall proceed with etiquette instruction right away. Master Belzeon specifically requested that I conduct this lesson."
The Twins were dragged away again by Baroness Malein.
The etiquette lesson was something I had orchestrated.
I had lied to Belzeon, claiming that the Twins had been spilling and dropping everything while drinking tea lately.
Having effectively separated the Twins from Baroness Malein, Chesa moved with swift precision.
Before departing the Basilian Count Estate.
She intended to extract every scrap of information she could uncover and leave.
'Now that I know Kieran belongs to the Underworld, I need to completely overhaul my investigative approach.'
The Underworld operated by its own distinct methods.
Its inhabitants possessed thought patterns fundamentally different from ordinary people.
Chesa briefly worried to herself—what if Kieran turned out to be more normal than expected?
But she quickly shook her head.
'That's absolutely impossible.'
Considering it through a distinctly Underworld perspective.
Chesa resolved to seek out the Black Forest of the East.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org